Huron Valley Sinai...Our Home away from home....No Exit.

Huron Valley Sinai Hospital.

It's a beautiful place.  Lushly landscaped and an impressive hotel-like entrance. It's sparkling clean and good health care is given here. Parking is all low on the ground surrounded by landscaping...no big ugly parking structures here.

My whole family has been there on many occasions. Oh...yes.....many. And more to come.

We've all been patients or visitors on occasions too numerous to list. My appendix was left there about 15 years ago one fast and painful Friday evening that I would like to forget.

I remember an old crabby neighbor lady across the street from me who tried to get me on her side in her opposition to having this hospital built just 5 miles north of our houses. She said all that blood running downhill and down the drain was going to ruin our wells.  Really. I kid you not. She said that. I remember crazy stuff like that. I went "Huh? That happens? I don't think so." She assured me it did and it was going to happen when that hospital was built. Crazy lady.

There's lovely internal gardens all around the place.  This one is just off the cafeteria which serves pretty darn good food I might add. I never mind having to eat there.

There's this sign in the cafeteria looking out into these lovely gardens. It says NO EXIT on the door.

No exit to me means this is not an exit. Maybe an alarm would go off?  How'd those people get out there that I saw eating out there? From another door hidden somewhere?  I ate inside.  Dumb Me.  But I watched that door.

And I saw someone go out there thru it. Ahh...Ha. You open the door and walked thru. Yup....that's all.

My Dad and I enjoyed eating lunch in the lovely "self contained" garden that had NO EXIT to the parking lot. Now I get it.

Why not say "Welcome" or "Enter" or  "Open to the Public" on the door. Underneath that: "No exit to the outside of the hospital thru this garden". It's a big door...plenty of room for all these words and "Smoke Free Environment" too.

So....it's a pretty perfect hospital except for this sign. Just wish I didn't have to go there ever but I'm glad to know it's there and I never....repeat never....have worried about blood in my drains. Crazy lady.

The Tarantula Chronicles: Part 8

Here comes the unwrapping of Eenie, Meanie, Miney and Moe.  Jacob's newest additions to his tarantula collection.  I think "Meanie" is a great name for a spider.

Carefully Jacob opens the bag and removes the cartons.

 Viola! There it is. One slightly traumatized spider.

I'm sure it was thinking...what the hell just happened

to me these last couple of days.  But it didn't

take long for it to recover and start to get spunky.

 Here it is in it's new environment.

Here below is Moe....Cobalt Blue Mo.

I can't believe I'm still saying this....but this isn't the end of The Tarantula Chronicles. 

There's more to come.

The Tarantula Chronicles: Part 7

Ever wonder how a tarantula arrives in the mail? Well, let me tell you.

Since Jacob had previously bought a tarantula at an exotic Pet Store and then at a Reptile Show, now it was time to try buying them thru the mail.

It was a very positive experience with Mike from North Carolina who Jacob met on Arachnoboards.

Jacob purchases some poecilotheria ornatoa's.

They arrived in a US postal truck in this box and sat on my hall bench until Jacob arrived home. We passed that box all day and watched it carefully. I did have a fleeting thought of getting Jacob out of school early but I thought better of that. I'd, of course, have to lie. I couldn't say he needed to come home and unpack his tarantulas. The attendance lady would probably...no, for sure... looked at me very weirdly.

So we waited.

I love the position of Jacob's hand in this picture.

It's like....okaaay.....I'm ready.  I'm watching. 

I'm waiting.....ahhhh...I think I'll remove this bag.....very gently.

 To be continued........

It's my blog

I love my blog.

It's random...although I do tend to post lots of work related party decorating pictures because that's what I do. But I like to throw in the personal ramblings too.

It makes me think in a new light.

It surprises me most of the time. I never felt like I was writer.  But since it's my blog there's nobody to ok it but myself. I give myself the ok to be whatever I am on it and just see what comes up.

It's no pressure....no deadline. It's there whenever I want it be. It just hangs around waiting for me to say whatever I want. I like that.

It's mundane just like so many other ones that I read and wonder why I'm enjoying theirs so much.

Details matter. They are what make up the day. Just ask Ashton Kutcher... or Dooce...or Pioneer Women....My Janee...or my nephew and big wheel web guy MickMel.....all bloggers who I think are fun to follow to hear their "details".

And now I follow Blogher on Facebook. What's more all about those tiny details of life than Facebook....well, unless you follow Michael Moore or the Huffington Post who post about BIG SERIOUS THINGS. I follow those too. But I hate to admit that I head to the crazy family posts first to see who's doing what. I like to hear those family details. You wouldn't necessarily make a phone call to share a random small detail but you'd put it on Facebook. I guess that's the reason we like Facebook and the reason we blog and the reason I can put a crazy video of my daughter and son-in-law on here....just because I can and I want to and it's fun. The End.

No...not Pan-er-ree-ah.

I'm driving. My Mom is in the passenger seat. My Dad is all by his lonesome self in the backseat. Got the picture?

We're headed to a favorite restaurant of my Dad's. Found out it was closed on Labor Day when we got there.

We were hungry. Across the street was a Panera Bread restaurant. I said to Mom, "Let's go there." She said okay. They have good soup. (and other stuff, of course.)

Dad, not hearing well from the backseat, said "whatever".

Until we pulled in the parking and then he yelled out "NOOOO....not PAN-ER-REEEE-AAAH!" (As in rhyming with diarrhea.) 

Does it give you diarrhea Dad?  What??  We love this place.  I love it so much I have a My Panera Card cuz I'm a frequent eater there when I drop packages off to FedEx. There's one right across the street. I love the place.

I guess it's because because they have no steaks.  Dad is big on steaks. He has beer and steaks in his veins. Especially juicy steaks like at Applebee's. Ahhh... That's where we needed to go.

Going to Panera is like asking a "Terminator/Clint Eastwood" guy to watch a chikflix, I guess. (Unless he has a laptop and loves the WiFi. You can't go to Panera without seeing 6,000 laptops everywhere.....but that's so not my guy....my Dad....but I digress.)

Ok...so now every time I see Panera...I think PAN ER REEEE AHHH. Can't get it out of my head.

Just like the time someone I knew said they were really mad and stomped their feet and said they were "F----king Fumigated". I'm SURE they meant F----king Furious but it was hard not to laugh out loud. In fact, I did. I remember that moment fondly.

Some things you just can't get out of your head.

The Tarantula Chronicles: Part 6

Jacob is always very careful and gentle with placing his spiders in their new environment.

He provides water and good warm soil and a hide for them to nestle in. He keeps a thermometer and humidity gauge inside.  His Dad owned a tarantula as a kid and is very comfortable checking out this new one. He knows how to pick them up and treat them kindly.

Jacob was also very comfortable right away this this little guy....or I mean gal. She's sweet natured and not easily offended. She doesn't pose in a threat position. She just kinda walks around and enjoys her world.

There's pretty much no place she minds traveling to or visiting.

Jacob encourages others to share in the enjoyment but watches over her like a mother hen. He's very protective and doesn't take his eyes off her. Have I held her yet? No...not yet. I might. I probably will. But not just yet. I'm not ready. I like to admire their beauty....and they ARE beautiful....from the distance of a camera lens.

Jacob's great grandma was willing to look and sit near it but I think the expression on her face says more than any words I could say. Some folks have that reaction.

Have you seen enough yet?

Well, this isn't the end of the story yet.

There's still more to come.

We're on an adventure.

But there will be a slight pause in the
TARANTULA CHRONICLES
as we discuss the options of adding
3 very colorful...yet more serious...
 baby tarantulas to the collection.

Ahhhhh....not so
sure about this decision yet.

I'm just so not sure this is a good idea.
Jacob is sure though.
We'll see.
Stay tuned.

The Tarantula Chronicles: Part 5

Jacob made his choice. It was a good one. A beautiful one. It's called a pink zebra beauty.

She's a female. She has a unibrow. Jake named her Unice. She is friendly. Honestly. A way different personality than testy Mr. Goliath Birdeater who's never going to be friendly no matter how much you feed him and smile at him thru the glass.

So this is the part you may not approve of. We stopped for lunch. And brought her in with us. We couldn't leave her all alone in the van now could we?  It might get hot.  Someone might take her. She might be sad and lonely....well, maybe not that. 

 We were quiet about it. No big deal. It looks like a carry out container anyway. Fits right in.

Who would mind? She's friendly after all.

More to come...yep....more still.

The Tarantula Chronicles: Part 4

Jake decided he wanted a friendly tarantula. Yes...there are friendly ones. So we went off to the Reptile Show in Taylor. In all my years, I've never been to a Reptile Show. I didn't realize there were so many people that loved reptiles. I also never realized you could buy frozen rodents to feed your snakes either. Wow...such a steep learning curve.

Jacob looked at every booth that had tarantulas.  We also briefly looked at some snakes for the "eck" factor. 

Jake talked to the vendors and got some valuable information. One guy was especially fond of his tarantulas and loved to share his knowledge.

He even lifted one up to double check that this was female since Jake was skeptical because his other one was sold as a female and we're almost positive now that it is a male. 

Now here is a a guy who takes tarantulas seriously. Who would tattoo so many on their arms if they weren't something you really really REALLY liked...or loved even.

NOTE to Jacob: Please don't like them this much. I like your arms just the way they are.

More to come...including the trip home and something you may not approve of but we did.

The Tarantula Chronicles: Part 3

Now Jacob decided that 10 gallon tank was just too small. He already had a big 40 gallon tank prepped and ready so he transfered Aragog into it.

He researched more. He joined an online forum called Arachnoboards and posted questions and got answers. The biggest concern was whether this was a female (suppose to be) or a male tarantula.

We got a book. A good one. And immediately he started more reading although he had done plenty already online but they all recommended this book. It has beautiful pictures and a whole bunch of very detailed and honest and helpful information.

Jake was loving having this lively and interesting tarantula. He loved watching it eat big crickets and it was eating good. I think he said it ate around 9 crickets the first week.

Look at those hairs! See them? You don't want them to flick those hairs on you. Oh no. They have little barbs on them. Also, when they lift those back legs they aren't in a happy mood.
Aren't we so glad it's behind that glass...oh, yes I am.

Jacob is intrigued. Jacob is delighted. Jacob never forgets that he now has an extra tank.

You see where I'm going here?  Yes, you're right. 

Jacob has his sights on another one. In fact, he knows which one. 


More coming up.....much more and it involves people with spider tattoos and more snakes around me than I've ever seen all in one place.

The Tarantula Chronicles: Part 2

After selecting a container, soil, water dish and discussing the size of the "hide" he already had we were ready to go. Jake named him Aragog and off we went.

Jake protected him on his lap on the ride home and I drove carefully. He only lifted the lid and peeped in a few times. He was very anxious to get his new friend home and in it's new habitat.

This was the 10 gallon tank he just bought at the suggestion of the pet store owner because the owner felt he needed a smaller tank than the 40 gallon one he already had ready.

Getting the tarantula into it's new home is....wellllll....kinda scary for the Grandma (that's me) watching.

Come on now.....get in there....gently....gently. I know they're fragile. But still. Let's get him in there and put the lid on. Yep...that's what I want to do.

Ok...now....I know what you're thinking. Yes. We did. Pay $89.99 for this tarantula. Oh yes we did. Well....Jake did actually. With his own hard earned money. I was just the "enabler", supporter and photographer/grandma/worrier.

But now...... isn't it a beaut! So worth it, don't you think??

More to come......much more....much.....much more.

The Tarantula Chronicles: Part 1

Jacob is taking me down a road I never expected to visit or never expected to enjoy so much.

I'm calling this adventure our "TARANTULA CHRONICLES".

Jacob is an adventurer. An experimenter. An inventor. Inquisitive to the max. He decided that tarantulas would make an interesting and exciting and enthralling pet. It has been all those things so far.

The first one was acquired from a pet store. Jacob "jumped in with both feet" as they told him on a Tarantula Forum he found online. He got a Goliath Birdeater that is mean and gets large. As large as a dinner plate.

Here's Jacob and the pet store owner discussing his choices. There were two possible ones he selected.  He had called earlier and had researched and knew what he wanted. Haley and Jake looked at the entire selection but quickly zeroed in on the pre-chosen ones.

 

He studied.

He pondered.

He made a choice.

To be continued...........There's more....so much more.

Traditional Candle Lighting Centerpieces

We've done a few of these traditional 

candle lighting centerpieces for 

Bar/Bat Mitzvahs this season.

Sometimes the candles are part of 

the centerpiece.

Sometimes they are in glass holders 

on the sides.

Either way it's a great place to make it 

personalized with a cutout name and often

a photo...sometimes more than one.

No amount of candles seems to be

the "correct amount". We've done

from just one candle to up to

seventeen!  Now that was quite a few

and certainly not the norm. I'll bet 

there were some folks wiggling in

their seats at that one.

I do see a trend towards shorter and

faster candle lightings but I can't image

they will ever stop happening.  

PLACE CARD TICKETS for sports & concert themed parties

We often do themed party placecards.

A popular option is a ticket whether it's for

a sports themed party or a music party.

Often they are free standing foldover 

place cards.  Sometimes they are

single thickness and insert into a

foamcore table top rectangle with

slits cut into it. This is a great option for

a windy area or to keep the place cards 

neat and orderly.

We also have little plastic holders that work

well with place cards that are not the traditional

rectangle shape.

The colorful place card on the top left is easily 

adaptable to changing a picture of either a sports

arena or field or even a musical concert venue.

The ones on the right work best with a 

unique and personalized party logo that

can go in the center.

We always enjoying doing placecards....

even though they are a last minute event and

often have last minute changes. 

It always surprises me when there aren't 

new arrivals and last minute deletions.

Even with all the pre-planning, life

has a way of re-working that placecard list.

Mickey Mouse waffles....life's little pleasures

I've had this Mickey Mouse waffle maker for

over 13 years now. My Mom & Dad bought it for

me before Jacob was born. I just knew I'd be

making Mickey Mouse waffles a bunch of times in the

upcoming years and I have.

Sometimes they have apples in them or strawberries or

blueberries. Sometimes even bananas. I usually 

sprinkle in some wheat germ and use extra eggs. I've

even dropped in some orange juice for flavoring.

They often over run the circle so we have to

scrape off the pieces that do not stay within

the Mickey Mouse shape. That's the mess you

see around bottom.  We wouldn't want to

eat the parts that do not apply....defeats

the purpose don't 'ya think.

Often when we're full there's always room

to pull off an ear on the last waffle.

The ears are the crunchiest.

In a re-model of my kitchen someone

secretly knocked my Mickey Mouse waffle maker

 on the floor and broke a piece on the dial and quietly put

it back on the shelf. I thought it was

done for.  I was so bummed out. 

But Jim fixed it and it's been

going strong for over 7 more years so far.

Behind the waffle maker I have these pretty little

plaques. I love them. Whoever put them in the 

family Christmas grab bag...thank you.

They blend well with my counter tops and also

with my Mickey Mouse waffle maker.